Wukong, the Monkey King has a few interesting visual concepts with interesting implementations. The notions of fire and enlightenment, among others, are executed in separate and in unison with widely different results. If you want to know more about how Wukong adapts to this visual ideas, read further on this skins’ review.

Volcanic Wukong

Category:

Regular

Price:

975 RP

Concept:

Wukong with a fire, lava based style.

Model:

New model for Wukong and his staff.

Particles:

New fire particles for Wukong’s body.

Animations:

No new animations.

Sounds:

No new sounds.

Splash Art:

This is a striking piece that makes up for it’s simple background with a stunning foreground. While the background is just a few rocks and maybe some fire, the foreground shows Wukong aflame and standing on lava sprouting from the ground. The colour palette is focused on the red-green spectrum which reinforces the fire theme. Wukong’s depiction is fiery, even demonic and easily stands out as the most attractive part of the piece. The flames are very nicely drawn as well as Wukong’s burning upper body. However, the lower parts of the body, and even the staff, look plain in comparison. All in all, it’s quite a good looking splash art but it suffers from uneven quality.

Rating:

Conclusion:

Volcanic Wukong provides an interesting fire version of the Monkey King. Firstly, Wukong’s new model is greatly detailed. The armour combines with his body and both unite with the lava lines. This style is more sinister than his usual self which complements the lethality of fire quite well. Secondly, the flames blazing from his head and gauntlets add a new layer of visual complexity. No matter what Wukong is doing, the flames trail and surround him. The resulting effect is very eye-catching and enjoyable to see. Sadly, the staff looks quite plain in both shape and design; at least it’s passable. Moreover, Crushing Blow, Decoy and Cyclone leave a staff trail with the classic staff shape. On the whole, Volcanic Wukong does have some flaws but they are minimal and are completely compensated by the excellent flame effects. Volcanic Wukong is a skin that constantly offers something attractive to stare at; so if you like fire and Wukong you shouldn’t skip Volcanic Wukong.

General Wukong

Category:

Regular

Price:

750 RP

Concept:

Wukong enlightened and wearing ornamented armour.

Model:

New model for Wukong and his staff.

Particles:

No new particles.

Animations:

No new animations.

Sounds:

No new sounds.

Splash Art:

General Wukong’s splash art is a good example of unequal quality between the background and the champion depicted. On the one hand, the background is fuzzy, doesn’t provide a good setting and looks empty. It appears as a bunch of clouds to fill the rest of the piece. On the other hand, Wukong is greatly portrayed with complex and detailed clothes. Additionally, the fur and material are well rendered plus the lighting is quite good; still, the tail seems to share the background’s quality. In the end, the contrast in quality results in a piece that isn’t bad but doesn’t do much beyond portraying Wukong.

Rating:

Conclusion:

General Wukong is an enlightened version of Wukong wearing armour; the concept isn’t incredibly exciting so it’s the execution’s job to deliver. Unfortunately, the implementation of General Wukong is good but not enough to make it interesting. Actually, the armour has an appropriate design and the staff looks solid. However, his face and eyes appear lifeless while the general aesthetic is a bit drab. It’s not so much that the style looks bad but it doesn’t do much to make it appealing. On top of that the staff trail used for Crushing Blow, Decoy and Cyclone is that of the classic staff. Therefore, General Wukong becomes an unexciting skin that looks just good.

Jade Dragon Wukong

Category:

Regular

Price:

975 RP

Concept:

Wukong in jade dragon-styled clothes.

Model:

New model for Wukong and his staff.

Particles:

New staff trail particles for Crushing Blow and Cyclone plus flames for his vambraces.

Animations:

No new animations.

Sounds:

No new sounds.

Splash Art:

Jade Dragon Wukong is a piece with a disappointing background but a good setting. The background is little more that fuzzy mountains and probably clouds but the piece integrates other elements to complement Wukong. The dragon on the left prevents the piece from looking empty. Besides, the tower top not only gives Wukong a place to stand but also helps to demonstrate his physical prowess. Wukong is very nicely drawn: the fur, metal, jade, all materials are well displayed. Moreover, the stance complements the communion with the dragon and both further the theme of Wukong’s power. All things considered, Jade Dragon Wukong’s manages to be more than the sum of its parts. It isn’t a perfect piece but it stands proud as a very good League of Legends splash art.

Rating:

Conclusion:

Jade Dragon Wukong seems like a fusion between the Volcanic and General skins. It has some fire effects like Volcanic and it has a little of the enlightened theme of General. This combination works better that could be expected: the flames are smaller but add a nice extra visual layer. Furthermore, the clothes with their jade decoration show Wukong as a more elegant and even spiritual being. Strangely, the staff’s design appears as if it challenged this theme. The tips have an extremely blunt and brutal shape that the dragon heads barely mask; still it looks adequate. Additionally, Crushing Blow and Cyclone receive new trail particles for the staff that make the aesthetic more consistent. Again, this stands in opposition of Decoy whose staff trail particles retain the classic style. In conclusion, Jade Dragon Wukong is very good skin that no Wukong fan should skip, but it isn’t as cohesive and impressive as it could or should be.

Underworld Wukong

Category:

Legacy

Price:

1350 RP

Concept:

Wukong as a supernatural warrior.

Model:

New model for Wukong and his staff plus new glow for the ends of the staff.

Particles:

New particles for his abilities.

Animations:

New recall animation.

Sounds:

New sounds for his abilities and recall plus processed voice-over.

Splash Art:

A cloudy night sky above a rocky region: the setting is as empty and pedestrian as it could be. Wukong doesn’t fare much better either. That’s because his depiction is a simple pose that doesn’t go beyond showing his aspect. At least, it’s effective in that regard. The elements are well defined and the colours bright so that materials look convincing; as long as they aren’t engulfed in the background’s blur. The translucent right arm is a good touch but, eerie glows aside, there’s nothing else like it. Ultimately, it’s a splash art that does its job but doesn’t go beyond that.

Rating:

Conclusion:

Adding a supernatural vein to the Monkey King’s already fantastic concept can seem overkill. To an extent it is but aside from looking a bit too exotic Underworld Wukong avoids becoming a pastiche of themes. Nonetheless, while the aspect is certainly different Wukong looks more like a deranged old warrior than an actual apparition. A translucent right arm would’ve helped cement the concept as the lamp-like staff isn’t enough.
If it weren’t for the staff’s new glow his aspect wouldn’t really seem supernatural. That’s where the new particles come into play. There are some really great touches but not all abilities shine as they should. To start with, the ghostly trail added to Crushing Blow and his recall is simply fantastic; even if the actual blow doesn’t impress. Whereas, Decoy and Nimbus Strike seem to just have the necessary, uninspired changes and suffer from all too solid vapours. Cyclone is a case of its own as it looks rather unimpressive for an ultimate. Instead of adding the eye-catching trail used for Crushing Blow and his recall the ability merely has the same old motion blur. There are new sounds to accompany the abilities but they fail to stand out and add an eerie feel to the skin; unlike the voice-over.
Therefore, Underworld Wukong is a skin that doesn’t represent its concept well. Even though there are some good additions the sum of its parts doesn’t justify the high price. In fact, cheaper skins manage to look and have abilities that feel more iconic. In conclusion, aside from the processed voice-over nothing explains the skin’s price; it would more reasonably fit 975 RP than it does 1350 RP. Unless you really like the style and are aware of the noticeable shortcomings of the skin there are better options for less.

Conclusion

Wukong’s skins have good quality in general even though they draw from only a few concepts. Volcanic Wukong and Jade Dragon Wukong are the recommended skins as they provide visually interesting looks for the Monkey King. The former is more stunning while the latter is more consistent; still both have a few flaws.

General Wukong isn’t a bad skin but it’s neither stunning nor consistent. It doesn’t provide as much as the other skins yet it may appeal to those that like its particular style.

Underworld Wukong is quite a letdown at its price. There are some good touches but on the whole it fails to justify the high expense. Unfortunately, it fails to represent its concept in an appealing way and its few saving graces feel like too little for too much.

In conclusion, Dragon Fist Lee Sin is closer to Classic Lee Sin and an evolution of his original theme. Muay Thai Lee Sin is more distinct and deviates more from Classic Lee Sin. Therefore, if you want something original, a new Lee Sin experience, Muay Thai Lee Sin will be a better choice. If you enjoy Classic Lee Sin and just want something that improves on that concept then Dragon Fist Lee Sin will deliver. Additionally, Bruce Lee fans may be biased towards the latter.

I do agree with all of the ideas you have introduced to your post.
They are really convincing and will definitely work.
Still, the posts are too brief for beginners. Could you
please extend them a little from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.

We try to balance the complexity of the skin with the length of the review. That way, ultimate and legendary skins tend to have long reviews though that also applies to skins from lower prices with multiple changes. Besides, we try to highlight the most important aspects of a skin so that people can get useful and concrete advice. Regardless, it’s true that in some cases more detail is necessary.

Volcanic Wukong has an appealing display of flames but in terms of particles it offers nothing else. In the case of Jade Dragon Wukong you get some minor flames but some nice particles; particularly on Cyclone. In addition to this, their themes are very different: one is strictly about fire while the other reflects an Asian warrior. Another thing to consider is that Volcanic practically always makes quite a display thanks to the permanent flames. However, Jade Dragon is more modest until Crushing Blow and, especially, Cyclone is used; which is where it makes for quite a show.

Both are nice skins but you may find that a specific theme or implementation suits your tastes better than the other. If you are patient you can always get them both while on sale but as far as quality and value goes they are both really good. It seems like your personal preference should be the deciding factor.

There’s the matter of personal preference which is always more important than technical merits or originality. General Wukong isn’t really a bad skin but the flames on the other two skins help on the visual side of things.

There’s a new skin for Wukong that comes in Halloween and it’s really cool, Underworld Wukong!!
I just feeling sry for those who bought his old ones, include my brother he was depressed for a week till i told him that i will buy that for u!!!

It doesn’t seem a very impressive skin. After all, if we take the processed voice-over out we are left with a skin that perfectly fits at 975 RP. It does have some interesting qualities but it also doesn’t seem to justify 1350 RP well.

Maybe 1350 RP isn’t the final price. As it hasn’t been released we don’t have all the facts and that’s a good reason not to review skins before they are released. Regardless, from what we’ve seen, we expected more.

Consider that it is, ultimately, just our point of view. We think that at 1350 RP a skin needs to be more than a 975 RP skin with a processed voice-over. At 975 RP it’s not a bad skin but 1350 RP seems too expensive for what it offers.

However, we can agree to disagree and personal preference should be the deciding factor on whether one should purchase a skin.

We would say that at 975 RP it’s an adequate skin of three stars. The main problem is that if we take out the processed voice-over the skin has the level of 975 RP. Besides, when compared with other skins at that price it doesn’t seem particularly appealing. It has some nice touches but most of the particles are simply altered to display Wukong in his new look and add nothing remarkable; sans the trail on his Crushing Blow and recall.

Hey Zero,
What would’ve been your star ranking for Underworld Wukong if it was 975 RP and thus ‘worth it’s price’? (Because I bought it for 975 RP and my friends are complaining the skin is just worse than the others, they think you’re always right)

We aren’t really always right but we try to give useful advise. In our view, processed voice-over aside, there’s nothing that really places Underworld Wukong at 1350 RP. A lower price of 975 RP would’ve been more reasonable but the skin would still be lacking. It has some good ideas but they aren’t developed. Specifically, Wukong doesn’t particularly look and feel like a spirit.

At 975 RP the skin would be easier to accept but it would remain a letdown. It’s possible that, had it been released at 975 RP, it would’ve received three stars. That would mean that the skin, processed voice-over and all, was acceptable at that price yet still unable to impress. Its issues are too basic to ignore or compensate with some extras.